My Name is Paul H Cosentino. I started this Blog in 2011 because of what I believe to be wrongdoings in town government. This Blog is to keep the citizens of Templeton informed. It is also for the citizens of Templeton to post their comments and concerns.

After months of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of
North Dakota, among others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today
effectively shut down the project by refusing to approve the last
remaining permit required to complete a segment running under Lake
Oahe. Per Reuters,
the permit denial was heavily celebrated by protesters in Cannon Ball,
North Dakota but means that Energy Transfer Partners will have to go
back to the drawing board to identify a new route for the last segment
of the 1,172 mile pipeline that is largely already complete.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Sunday it turned
down a permit for a controversial pipeline project running through North
Dakota, in a victory for Native Americans and climate activists who have protested against the project for several months.

A celebration erupted at the main protest camp in Cannon Ball, North
Dakota, where the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others have been
protesting the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) Dakota Access Pipeline for months.

The line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP, had been complete except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

That stretch required an easement from federal authorities, which delayed a decision on the permit twice, in an effort to consult further with the tribe.

"The Army will not grant an easement to cross Lake Oahe at the proposed location based on the current record," a statement from the U.S. Army said.

As the Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault II noted, the tribe will be eternally grateful for Obama's last parting blow to the oil industry.

In a statement, Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault II thanked activists for their support in the protest effort.

"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all of Indian Country will
be forever grateful to the Obama Administration for this historic
decision," he said.

"We want to thank everyone who played a role in advocating
for this cause. We thank the tribal youth who initiated this movement."

Meanwhile, Energy
Transfer Partners will now be forced to either find a new route or hope
that the Trump administration will reconsider the federal easement
required to finish construction.

It is unclear what the pipeline route will be, however, and
any route would still likely need to cross the Missouri River, probably
upstream of Lake Oahe and closer to the state capital of Bismarck. Many pipelines travel under U.S. waterways already, and pipe is considered a safer way to transport crude oil than rail.

North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, nodded to the fact
that next steps remain unclear, saying in a statement Sunday that the pipeline "still remains in limbo."

What is also unclear as well is whether the incoming
administration of Donald Trump may consider taking up Energy Transfer
Partners' request yet again, and approving it. Trump's transition team last week said that he was supportive of the line, in addition to other pipeline development.

"We're hopeful that when the Trump administration takes
office it will look at all of the priorities it has and that putting at
risk the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux isn't on their list," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club

As we noted a few days ago,
Trump has expressed support for the completion of the Dakota Access
Pipeline though his support has been complicated by his personal
investments in Energy Transfer Partners. Maybe it's the cynic in us,
but we find it curious that, after sitting silent on this issue for
months, the Obama administration, with just a few weeks left in office,
would now decide to take definitive action on this issue...just a little
parting gift for Trump.

Meanwhile, Paul Ryan, who has been cozying up to the Trump
administration in recent weeks, tweeted this moments after the
announcement: "This is big-government decision-making at its worst. I look forward to putting this anti-energy presidency behind us."